My Mom is one of the most passionate, hard-working, selfless, and adventurous women I know. She is involved without being overbearing, fun-loving and caring, and is, without a doubt, one of the greatest role models in my life. It is from her that I get my greatest superpower, but more on that another time. When I sit back and try to put words to the countless lessons I have learned from her, I am overwhelmed even thinking about where to begin.
One of the greatest lessons my Mom has taught me is that we ALL need to STEP OUTSIDE.
My Mom grew up traveling with her own family. She was one of five girls, and her parents, my Nonnie and Granddad, owned a motorhome. As a child and young adult, my Mom and her sisters traveled the country with their parents when time allowed, soaking up nature in some of their favorite spots, including Montana, Mexico, and many of our country’s National Parks. She developed a love for nature and for the world around her because she stepped outside so often, and saw firsthand the freedom of spirit it brought her.
When it came time to raise her own family, my Mom made sure that many of these experiences were accessible to my brother and me. We visited many National Parks as children, including Sequoia, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Bryce, and Zion. In these places, we hiked, we fished, we swam, we climbed, we rafted, and we saw some of the most amazing, most pristine and untouched areas of our own country. In retrospect, this ability to explore, adventure, and wander was such a gift. Yes, we were normal children and loved to complain about, “another hike” and questioned, “Why do we always have to take our vacations and then walk SO far?” But my Mom never wavered, continuing to point out flower after flower, animal after animal, and waterfall after rock formation. We would roll our eyes. But, our eyes were OPEN.
As far back in my childhood as I can remember, my Mom aimed to show us the world, and she did this by exposing us to so many of these places of natural beauty and wonder. In addition to our trips to numerous National Parks, we spent time outside whenever we could. We explored. We went on nature walks, learned about plants and animals, and about our duties as humans to protect our world. It was a priority in our family. My Mom appeared to pull this all off so effortlessly and spontaneously, but I can now see just how calculated and intentional it all was.
Becoming an adult and living on my own for the first time, I found it funny that I began to seek out my own opportunities to be in nature and to explore. I discovered a love for hiking, and found such solace, peace, and spiritual growth in this beauty and quiet. This space for reflection helped me through some of the more difficult times in my life.
Now with children of my own, I have continued to make it a priority to get outside with my family. We explore, we take walks and bike rides and hikes, and we spend as much time as possible OUT of the house. Our family spends time visiting natural wonders close to home, and my Mom and I have also begun to take our children to National Parks so that they can see firsthand some of these natural wonders that we saw as children. They are soaking it in. And their eyes are OPEN.
The beauty of nature is always right outside my door, and your door. Every day affords an opportunity to take a pause from our usual busyness of life, and to explore the world that will always, always refresh and rejuvenate us. Just when things feel really hard, and we can’t quite see beyond our own struggles or worries, nothing will give your spirit a chance to reframe like some time in nature. When we step outside, we truly step outside ourselves.
Turns out that, once again, I am Just. Like. My. Mom.
